Agenda item

Dave Shipton, Head of Finance Policy, Planning and Strategy; Kevin Kasaven, Director of Children’s Countywide Services and Sarah Hammond, Corporate Director of CYPE were in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr Rayner, Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services, introduced the item and gave a general overview of the budget position.  He noted that the budget deficit had been reduced by around £12,000,000, to £36,000,000 since the budget was considered at the last meeting of the Committee.   Members were now presented with a balanced budget for 2024/25 that included a draw down from reserves, utilised £14,000,000 of risk reserves, and estimated £8,000,000 revenue from the sale of assets.  The Budget should be seen as part of a three year plan for the future.

2.    Mrs Chandler, Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services provided the committee with further details relating to her portfolio.  The following points were noted:

·       The budget updates relating to Integrated Children’s Services portfolio were relatively small, however the cost of children’s placements had been revised.

·       The cost savings that were expected to result from the decisions made just before Christmas were now shown in the updated budget.

3.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·       There was a fall in the number of looked after children, and a fall in the number of children being referred to social work services; however, the children who were referred often had complex needs.  The availability of specialist providers with the ability to meet these complex needs was very limited and led to high placement costs.

·       An assessment was underway to look at the development of an in-house set of services that would work jointly with health services.

·       The family hubs would provide a whole system approach that could identify children suffering from mental health issues and offer support at an earlier stage. 

·       The use of agency social workers was expensive.  KCC looked to develop, employ and retain social workers to reduce dependency on agency workers.

·       The Early Years Review looked to see how services could be delivered better in the future.  The Review included some very positive proposals to take the service forward.

·       Work was underway with health partners to ensure that the cost of providing care was correctly shared. 

·       There was a very strong relationship been the Early Help and Social Work teams.  Audits of the Early Help team’s work showed very strong performance, supported through training and development.  There was confidence that the Service could accommodate an increase to the current caseloads. 

·       The data for the number of Early Help Unit referrals and showed an increasing trend up to October.  Officers advised that the latest figures suggested that the trend was now decreasing.

·       Each line of the budget had been given very careful consideration before it was included.

4.    RESOLVED to note the updated Revenue Budget, the Medium Term Financial Plan, the Draft Capital Strategy and Programme, and draft Treasury Management Strategy

5.    In accordance with paragraph 16.31 of the Constitution, Dr Sullivan, wished for it to be recorded in the minutes that she voted against the motion.